Systems and methods for determining container contents, locations, and surroundings

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for determining whether and/or when a patient is taking his or her medication and, when appropriate, providing reminders and/or alerts to the patient to improve adherence to a medication regimen. In some embodiments, a medication container is provided that includes a capacitance sensor for sensing the contents of the medication container (e.g., pill count or quantity of liquid medication). The capacitance sensor may include interleaved or interdigitated electrodes oriented vertically, horizontally, or angularly (e.g., diagonally) relative to an axis of the medication container. Reminders and/or alerts to the patient may be triggered based at least in part on the contents of the medication container, when a cap of the container was last opened and/or closed, the location of the medication container, and/or the container&#39;s surroundings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/603,353, filed on Feb. 26, 2012,and 61/752,679, filed on Jan. 15, 2013, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods fordetermining whether and/or when a patient is taking his or hermedication and, when appropriate, providing appropriate reminders and/oralerts to the patient to improve adherence to a medication regimen. Insome embodiments, a medication container is provided that includes acapacitance sensor for sensing the contents of the medication container(e.g., pill count or quantity of liquid medication). In particularembodiments, the capacitance sensor includes interleaved orinterdigitated electrodes oriented vertically, horizontally, ordiagonally relative to an axis of the medication container or positionedin any other suitable manner for measuring the capacitance attributableto the container contents. In some embodiments, the systems and methodsdescribed herein trigger reminders and/or alerts to the patient based atleast in part on data indicative of the contents of the medicationcontainer, when a cap of the container was last opened and/or closed,the location of the medication container, and/or the container'ssurroundings.

BACKGROUND

It is estimated that approximately 133 million people suffer from atleast one chronic illness in the United States alone, and that chronicillnesses lead to approximately seven out of every ten deaths in theUnited States each year. Medications are often prescribed to alleviateand treat these illnesses, yet go unconsumed. With current levels ofadherence to medication regimens at or below 50%, patients are notproperly treating their chronic diseases, even though many have accessto preventative or palliative medications. Tragically, a primary reasonfor patients not taking their medication is forgetfulness.

In view of the foregoing, what are needed are systems and methods forincreasing patient adherence to medication regimens. Increasing patientadherence promises to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a medicationcontainer is provided that includes a housing (e.g., bottle) formedication and a cap removably coupled to the housing. In someembodiments, the medication container includes a cap sensor configuredto sense opening and/or closing of the cap. Alternatively oradditionally, in some embodiments, the medication container includes ameasurement sensor (e.g., capacitance sensor or weight sensor) coupledto the housing for sensing a quantity of medication within the housing.In some embodiments, the medication container includes a processorconfigured to trigger a reading of the measurement sensor based at leastin part on a status of the cap sensor (e.g., triggering a reading of themeasurement sensor immediately after, or 5 or 10 seconds after, the capsensor indicates that the cap is closed).

In some embodiments, the medication container includes a transmitter(e.g., transceiver) for wirelessly transmitting to a remote computerdata regarding a reading of the measurement sensor (e.g., dataindicative of a number of pills or quantity of liquid medication withinthe medication container).

In some embodiments, the medication container includes a wirelessreceiver and/or an alert (e.g., one or more light sources, graphicaldisplays, text displays, and/or speakers). For example, the wirelessreceiver may be configured to receive an activation command from, orotherwise initiated by, a remote computer (e.g., a backend system oruser computer such as a cellular phone running a suitable communicationsapplication for communicating with the medication container). Aprocessor within the medication container may activate the alert basedat least in part on the receipt of the activation command by thewireless receiver.

According to another aspect according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a medication container is provided that includes a housingfor medication and a capacitance sensor coupled to the housing forsensing a capacitance corresponding to a quantity of the medicationwithin the housing. In some embodiments, the capacitance sensor includesmultiple conductive electrodes arranged in an interleaved orinterdigitated pattern. In some embodiments, the medication containerincludes a capacitance to digital converter for converting thecapacitance sensed by the capacitance sensor into digital data.

In some embodiments, the conductive electrodes of a capacitance sensorinclude a first conductive electrode in electrical communication with afirst conductive terminal, and second and third conductive electrodes inelectrical communication with a second conductive terminal. The firstconductive electrode may be positioned in between the second and thirdconductive electrodes. The capacitance attributable to the quantity ofthe medication within the housing may be sensed in between the firstconductive terminal and the second conductive terminal.

The electrodes of a capacitance sensor may have any suitable size,shape, and/or configuration. In some embodiments, the conductiveelectrodes of a capacitance sensor include regularly-spaced conductiveelectrodes in an interleaved pattern, in some embodiments, theinterleaved pattern of conductive electrodes includes rectangularlyshaped or generally rectangularly shaped conductive electrodes. In someembodiments, one or more of the electrodes is positioned in parallel,generally parallel, perpendicular, or generally perpendicular to avertical axis of the medication container when the medication containeris in an upright position. In some embodiments, one or more of theelectrodes is positioned diagonal, generally diagonal, or in anotherangular relationship (e.g., angled between 35 to 55 degrees) relative toa vertical axis of the medication container when the medicationcontainer is in an upright position.

In some embodiments, the capacitance sensor is configured such that thecapacitance corresponding to the medication varies linearly or generallylinearly to the quantity of medication within the housing.

In some embodiments, the capacitance corresponding to the quantity ofthe medication varies by between 10 femtoFarads (fF) to 100 fF per pillthat is added to or removed from the housing.

In some embodiments, the capacitance corresponding to the quantity ofthe medication varies by between 250 femtoFarads (fF) to 450 fF permilliliter of liquid medication that is added to or removed from thehousing.

According to yet another aspect according to sonic embodiments of thepresent disclosure, systems and methods are provided for reminding apatient to consume a medication. The system may include computer memoryconfigured to store data indicative of a medication regimen associatedwith a patient. The system may also include one or more computersconfigured to receive communications from a medication containerassociated with the patient. The one or more computers may compare dataindicative of when a communication was last received by the one or morecomputers from the medication container (e.g., a communicationindicating that the patient consumed his or her medication) to the dataindicative of the medication regimen associated with the patient. Basedat least in part on the comparison, the one or more computers maytrigger a reminder to the patient to consume the medication.

In some embodiments, the system and method may include one or morecomputers configured to receive a communication from the medicationcontainer indicating a quantity of medication within the medicationcontainer at a particular time. The one or more computers may comparethe data indicative of the quantity of the medication within thecontainer to data indicative of a medication regimen associated with thepatient. Based at least in part on the comparison, the one or morecomputers may trigger a reminder to the patient to consume themedication.

The foregoing summary is only illustrative of the embodiments disclosedherein. Additional embodiments of the present disclosure, includingsystems, methods, apparatus, computer readable media, and means forperforming the functions disclosed herein, are further described in thedetailed description and shown in the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the following figures, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale and are not intended to be limiting. Itemsappearing in multiple figures are indicated by the same reference numberor character in all the figures in which they appear.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative system for determining thecontents of a medication container and/or providing patients withreminders and/or alerts to take their medication according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a medication container that includes atwo-electrode capacitance sensor for measuring the contents of thecontainer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B illustrate capacitance sensors that includevertically-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes formeasuring the contents of a medication container according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a capacitance sensor that includeshorizontally-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes formeasuring the contents of a medication container according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate another capacitance sensor that includesvertically-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a capacitance sensor for a medicationcontainer that includes diagonally-oriented interleaved orinterdigitated electrodes according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a graph of measured capacitance versus number of pills in amedication container as measured by a capacitance sensor in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a graph of measured capacitance versus volume of liquidmedication in a medication container as measured by a capacitance sensorin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a medication container that includes aweight sensor for measuring the weight of medication within thecontainer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are flowcharts of illustrative methods for remindingpatients to consume medication according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forincreasing patient adherence to medication regimens. FIG. 1 is a blockdiagram of an illustrative system 100 for determining the contents of amedication container 102 and/or providing patients with reminders and/oralerts to take their medication according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Medication container 102 may be a bottle or othercontainer for housing prescription or non-prescription pills or liquidmedication. In some embodiments, system 100 includes medicationcontainer 102 and backend system 104, which may include one or moreservers. In some embodiments, system 100 includes user computer 128(e.g., cellular phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, personaldigital assistant (PDA), or desktop computer), pharmacy computer 130,and/or physician's computer 132.

Medication container 102 may be communicatively coupled viacommunications capability 106 to one or more (e.g., all) of backendsystem 104, user computer 128, pharmacy computer 130, and/or physician'scomputer 132. For example, in some embodiments, medication container 102includes a wireless transmitter or transceiver 108 for transmittingand/or receiving communications, including, for example, a cellularmodem (e.g., Telit CC864-Dual, Sierra Wireless 6087 or 5011, or JanusCDMA Terminus Plug-In CDMA864C). Communications capability 106 may be awireless link (e.g., radio frequency (RF) link, Bluetooth link, 2G link,3G link), other communications link, or combination of communicationlinks. In various embodiments, medication container 102 may utilize thesame or different communications links for communicating with differentcomputers (e.g., utilizing different communications links forcommunicating with backend system 104 and user computer 128).

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may communicate withbackend system 104 directly via one or more communications links ofcommunications capability 106. In other embodiments, communicationscapability 106 may include one or more intermediate devices that enablecommunications between medication container 102 and backend system 104.For example, in some embodiments, communications capability 106 mayinclude a dedicated base station within the user's home (e.g., a basestation configured to plug into a wall outlet) or other intermediatecomputer(s) for enabling communications with backend system 104 (e.g.,cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or general purposecomputer such as a desktop computer running a communicationsapplication). In such embodiments, medication container 102 maycommunicate with an intermediate device via a wired or wirelessconnection (e.g., USB connection, Bluetooth connection, or other wiredor wireless connection). In turn, the intermediate device(s) maycommunicate with backend system 104 via suitable wired and/or wirelessconnection(s) (e.g., cellular network, local area network (LAN), widearea network such as the Internet, and/or public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN)). In some embodiments, the intermediate device(s) maycommunicate to backend system 104 some or all of the data communicatedby medication container 102 and/or other data.

Medication container 102 may include one or more components for enablingits operation, intelligence, and/or communication with backend system104 and/or other computer(s). For example, medication container 102 mayinclude local power source 110 for powering electrical circuitry withinthe container (e.g., lithium battery, lithium-polymer battery, graphenebattery, super-capacitor, and/or associated charging circuitry),computer(s) or processor(s) 112 (e.g., microcontroller such as ATMELATmega32U4, ATMELmega328, or PIC16F57), memory 114 (e.g., random accessmemory (RAM)), and/or one or more antennas included as part oftransceiver block 108 (e.g., 800/1900 MHz antenna).

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include one or moresensors 116 for sensing a quantity of medication within the container(e.g., pill count or quantity of liquid medication). For example, insome embodiments, medication container 102 may include at least onecapacitance sensor.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 includes a capacitancesensor that includes interleaved or interdigitated electrodes forsensing a quantity of medication within the container. For example, thecapacitance sensor may include one or more conductive electrodes inelectrical communication with a first conductive electrical terminal(e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 electrodes, ormore, or any number of electrodes or range of numbers of electrodes inbetween). One or more of these electrodes may be interlaced (e.g., in anopposing comb configuration) with conductive electrode(s) associatedwith a second conductive electrical terminal (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 electrodes, or more, or any number ofelectrodes or range of numbers of electrodes in between). For example,in some embodiments, an electrode in electrical communication with afirst electrical terminal may be positioned between two electrodes inelectrical communication with a second electrical terminal. Ameasurement indicative of the capacitance between the first and secondelectrical terminals may correspond to a quantity of medication withinmedication container 102 (e.g., number of pills or quantity of liquidmedication). In some embodiments, the capacitance may be measuredbetween the terminals upon application of an excitation signal at one ormore of the terminals, such as, for example, an excitation signal of 3volts or less and 250 kilohertz (kHz) or less (e.g., 32 kHz or 1 kHz).

In some embodiments, at least a portion (e.g., all) of the interleavedor interdigitated electrodes of a capacitance sensor 116 may be orientedhorizontally, vertically, diagonally (45 degrees), or in any otherangular relationship(s) (e.g., between 0 and 30, between 30 and 60degrees, or between 60 and 90 degrees, or any other value or range ofvalues in between) relative to a normal and upright position ofmedication container 102. In some embodiments, the electrodes ofcapacitance sensor 116 may be shielded (e.g., with copper foil), forexample, to improve noise immunity.

When content sensor 116 within medication container 102 is a capacitancesensor, it may provide a capacitance reading (e.g., analog reading) thatis converted into digital data via a suitable capacitance to digitalconverter 118 in medication container 102 (e.g., Analog Devices AD7746).In some embodiments, the digital data may be stored in memory 112.Medication container 102 may transmit the digital data and/or relatedinformation, which corresponds to a quantity of medication in container102, to backend system 104 and/or other computer(s) (e.g., patient'scellular phone 128) via communications capability 106.

In some embodiments, backend system 104 and/or other computer(s) (e.g.,patient's cellular phone 128) may receive data from medication container102 corresponding to measurement(s) by sensor(s) 116 in medicationcontainer 102 and convert it into quantit(ies) of medication, such as,for example, one or more pill counts or quantities of liquid medication,For example, backend system 104 and/or other computer(s) may includememory 120 for storing conversion data correlating capacitance and/orother readings to pill counts or quantities of liquid medication forvarious types of medication, including, for example, pill size, shape,density, composition, and/or capacitance linear regression constants.One or more computer(s) or processor(s) 122 in backend system 104 and/orother computer(s) may utilize the conversion data to convert thecapacitance measurement(s) into one or more quantities of medication. Inother embodiments, processor(s) 112 within medication container 102 mayconvert capacitance measurement(s) into one or more quantities ofmedication, for example, before transmitting digital data correspondingto the quantit(ies) to backend system 104 and/or other computer(s). Insome embodiments, medication container 102, backend system 104, and/orother computer(s) (e.g., patient's cellular phone 128) may trigger oneor more reminders and/or alerts to the patient to take medication basedat least in part on data received as a result of or derived fromcapacitance measurement(s) by sensor(s) 116. For example, an applicationrunning on backend system 104 or a patient's cellular phone or tabletcomputer 128 may receive (e.g., from medication container 102) dataindicative of the medication contents of medication container 102, andmay initiate one or more reminders and/or alerts to the patient based atleast in part on the data.

Capacitance sensor(s) 116 for medication container 102 may be formedand/or utilized in any suitable manner. For example, in someembodiments, conductive electrodes (e.g., plates) for the capacitancesensor may be formed from an adhesive conductor (e.g., copper tape). Insome embodiments, electrodes for the capacitance sensor may be formedfrom one or more flexible multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs). Insome embodiments, a dual layer flexible PCB may be utilized to measurecapacitance on one layer and act as a grounded electrical shield on theother layer (a capacitance subtractor). In some embodiments, theexterior of a volume being used to measure capacitance may be grounded.A grounding shield according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure adds a static capacitance to the capacitance that ameasurement device (e.g., digital converter 118) already reads betweenthe two sense electrodes. System 100 may cancel out the staticcapacitance as part of the capacitance-to-digital-acquisition such thatfull dynamic range of converter 118 remains available for sensingmedication. The grounding electrode(s) (e.g., plate(s)) mayadvantageously eliminate any variation in the capacitance reading that anearby object or hand might cause because all of the electric (E)-fieldlines of the capacitance inside the bottle may terminate inside of theshield, such that anything outside the shield does not perturb (or doesnot substantially perturb) the field lines. In some embodiments,electrodes (e.g., copper plates or portions of flexible PCB(s)) for usewith capacitance measurements may be over-molded with a plasticinjection process. In some embodiments, conductive (e.g., copper) platesmay be inserted inside of medication container 102 for use in measuringa quantity of medication. In some embodiments, conductors for one ormore sensors 116 may be imbedded in or otherwise integrated with one ormore walls of medication container 102 (e.g., slipped or positioned inbetween a small passage between two plastic walls).

In some embodiments, sensor(s) 116 of medication container 102 mayinclude other types of sensor(s) including, for example, weight sensorsthat detect the weight of medication within medication container 102(e.g., as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B), resistive sensors, and/orinductive sensors. Additional details regarding medication containers102 and sensors 116 in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure are described below in connection with, for example, FIGS.2-10B.

In some embodiments, data indicative of the quantity of medicationwithin medication container 102 may be compared to data indicative of anexpected quantity of medication within container 102. Based at least inpart on the comparison, system 100 (e.g., backend system 104 and/ormedication container 102) may provide one or reminders and/or alerts tothe patient to take the medication. In some embodiments, data indicativeof an expected quantity of medication remaining in a medicationcontainer 102 assigned to a given a patient may be determined based atleast in part on data indicative of a date and/or time the patientfilled or picked-up the medication, an original quantity of medicationdispensed to the patient, the patient's medication regimen (e.g., dosesize and number of doses per day), and/or the date and/or time thatsensor(s) 116 measured the quantity of medication remaining withinmedication container 102. In some embodiments, this comparison may beperformed by backend system 104 based on data stored in memory 120and/or by other computer(s) (e.g., patient's cellular phone 128). Insome embodiments, this comparison may be performed by processor(s) 110in medication container 102 based on information stored in memory 112.

System 100 may provide different types of reminders and/or alerts topatents according to various embodiments. In some embodiments, backendsystem 104 may trigger the initiation of a telephone call (e.g.,automated message or live operator) to a telephone number associatedwith the patient (e.g., a telephone number stored in memory 120 inassociation with a data record for the patient) when system 104 and/ormedication container 102 determines that the patient has not adhered tothe patient's medication regimen. In some embodiments, the telephonecall may be initiated to the patient's home, cellular, and/or worktelephone, and/or to a telephone number associated with the patient'sphysician (e.g., physician computer 132), family member, and/or otherdesignee. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, backendsystem 104 may trigger an electronic message, such as a text message,email, or other digital message to the patient (e.g., patient's cellphone 128), patient's physician (e.g., physician computer 132), and/orpatient's designee, as indicated by instructions stored in memory 120.In some embodiments, medication container 102 triggers the issuance ofreminders and/or alerts to the patient, for example, via one or morealerts 124 of medication container 102 and/or via communication with(e.g., text message to) a user computer 128.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may issue one or morealerts 124 when system 104 and/or medication container 102 determinesthat the patient has not adhered to the patient's medication regimen.For example, medication container 102 may include one or more lightsource(s) 124 (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) that light up whenthe patient fails to adhere to the patient's medication regimen. Forexample, a light source may light up a certain color or in a blinkingpattern, and/or have differing lights or lighting patterns for differentcircumstances (e.g., a patient forgetting to take medication, lack ofconnectivity to backend server 104, or light of increasing intensity oramount the longer a patient fails to take a medication dose). Lightsource(s) 124 may be positioned at any suitable location(s) on or inmedication container 102, including on different areas of a body and/orcap. In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include words orsymbols above specific lights such as, for example, “not connected” or“take a dose.”

Alternatively or additionally, medication container 102 may includeother types of alert(s) 124, including for example a graphical and/ortext display for displaying text and/or graphics (e.g., text and/orgraphics received automatically from backend system 104) and/or aspeaker for issuing audio alerts. With respect to audio alerts, in someembodiments a medication container 102 play different sounds, soundpatterns, and/or volumes for different circumstances (e.g., a patientforgetting to take medication, lack of connectivity to backend server104, or sound of increasing intensity the longer a patient fails to takea medication dose). In some embodiments, medication bottle 102 may playa voice alert (e.g., patient's voice, family member's voice, and/ordoctor's voice). The voice alert may be stored in memory 114. The voicealert may be recorded and downloaded to memory 114 using any suitableapproach (e.g., a user dialing a telephone number and recording thevoice alert, which is then downloaded via USB or a wireless connectionto medication container 102).

In some embodiments, instructions for medication container 102 toactivate the light(s) and/or other alerts of medication container 102may be provided by backend system 104, other computer(s) (e.g., usercomputer 128), and/or medication container 102. For example, suchinstructions may be provided based at least in part on theabove-described data indicative of an expected medication quantity forthe patient and data indicative of a measured medication quantityremaining within container 102. In some embodiments, backend system 104,other computer(s), and/or medication container 102 may storenon-transitory computer executable program instructions in memory forimplementing a reminder/alert escalation chain for medication adherence,whereby a patient who does not take medicine as expected is reminded(e.g., with different and/or multiple reminders/alerts) until he or sheremoves the appropriate amount of medication from medication container102.

System 100 may adaptively provide different types of reminders and/oralerts, or timing of reminders or alerts, based on a patient's pastadherence statistics (e.g., stored in memory 114 and/or 120 or in memoryof user computer 128). For example, in some embodiments, backend system104, other computer(s) such as user computer 128, and/or medicationcontainer 102 may utilize one or more machine learning techniques todetermine when, and which type, of reminders to initiate to a patientand/or when a patient is most likely to take his or her medication. Forexample, the timing or type of reminders may change depending on whensystem 100 predicts that the patient is most likely to take his or hermedication (e.g., the prediction being based at least in part on the dayof the week, number of dosages, etc.). In some embodiments, remindersare initiated to patients at times when stored past data indicates thatthe patient is most likely to open or close medication container 102(e.g., morning between 7 and 8 am, in afternoon hour(s), or eveninghour(s)).

In some embodiments, system 100 (e.g., medication container 102 and/orbackend server 104) may trigger reminders and/or alerts to a patientbased at least in part on data received from a patient's computer orphone 128. For example, phone input such as a text message to backendsystem 104 (e.g., indicating for example medication compliance ornon-compliance) may, at least in part, cause backend system 104 totrigger a reminder or alert (e.g., displayed on or otherwise issued bymedication container 102) for the patient to perform a function such astaking medication or obtaining a refill. As another example, input (orlack of input) into an application running on user computer 128 maycause user computer 128 to issue or otherwise trigger a reminder and/oralert to the patient.

Medication container 102 may measure and record the quantity ofmedication within container 102 and/or report that information tobackend server 104 and/or other computer(s) (e.g., user computer 128) atany suitable time or according to any suitable frequency (e.g.,continuously or substantially continuously). For example, in someembodiments, medication container 102 may include one or more sensors126 for detecting when a user has closed or opened a cap of container102. In some embodiments, a sensor 126 may include a switch that isactivated (e.g., pressed down) when the cap is closed, thus signalingthat the patient might have just removed medication from the container.After the switch is activated (e.g., immediately after the switch isactivated or at another time), medication container 102 may measure andrecord a measurement from sensor(s) 116 indicative of the quantity ofmedication within the container and/or communicate that measurement tobackend system 104.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may wait a predeterminedtime (e.g., between 5 and 10 seconds) after a sensor 126 is activated tomeasure, record, and/or the report hack to backend server 104 the dataindicative of the quantity of medication within container 102. In someembodiments, non-transitory computer program instructions (computerlogic) stored in memory 114 may be utilized by processor(s) 110 tocontrol this timing function of medication container 102. For example,medication container 102 may only measure, record, and/or report back ameasurement to backend server 104 if the switch remains activated (thecap remains closed) a predetermined time period after the switch wasoriginally activated. This may prevent container 102 from measuring,recording, and/or reporting back a measurement when a patientaccidentally activates the switch (e.g., presses the switch with thepatient's finger) before the patient has removed any medication. Insonic embodiments, medication container 102 may store measurement(s) inmemory 114, and may retry to communicate measurement data to backendsystem 104 and/or other computer(s) if and when an original attempt tocommunicate the data fails (e.g., due to noise in a communicationschannel or for any other reason).

In some embodiments, medication container 102, backend server 104,and/or other computer(s) (e.g., user computer 128) may trigger remindersand/or alerts to the patient based at least in part on sensor(s) 126sensing the closing and/or opening of a cap of medication container 102.For example, if medication container 102, backend server 104, and/orother computer(s) determine that a predetermined amount of time haslapsed since the cap was last opened and/or closed (e.g., a time thatexceeds the time between doses according to stored data indicative of apatient's medication regimen), medication container 102, backend server104, and/or other computer(s) may trigger reminder(s) and/or alert(s) tothe patient to take their medication (e.g., light source activation,graphical display, text message, audio alert, telephone call, etc.).

In some embodiments, sensor(s) 116 may measure the contents ofmedication container 102 at specific times of day (e.g., every day at 8am and 8 pm), set intervals (e.g., every 4 hours), time since the lastchange e.g., 5 minutes since the container was moved), bundled within ashort time period, initiated upon an action, triggered by the user or athird party, triggered remotely by a system operator within backendsystem 104, and/or triggered by an application running on user computer128. In some embodiments, single measurements may be taken when thedevice is being moved, changing environments, and/or in other wayschanged or handled. In some embodiments, multiple or a combination ofthese mechanisms may be utilized, which may improve the confidence andaccuracy of the system.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments of the present disclosure,transitory readings may not be indicative of the steady-state contentsof medication container 102 and may lead to misleading or inaccuratemeasurements and conclusions. Accordingly, in some embodiments,measurements of the container contents are bundled to ensure that thisdoes not occur. For example, several sensory readings may be performedby sensor(s) 116 within a short amount of time to allow system 100 tovalidate and confirm that the measurement is accurate. If multiplereadings within a given time window do not agree (e.g., as determined byone or more processor(s) in medication container 102, backend server104, and/or other computer(s) such as a personal computer 128), thepatient may be alerted (e.g., via one or more alerts 124) to change theconditions of the container to enable a more accurate reading. Thepatient can then make the necessary corrections and initiate a newmeasurement (e.g., either automatically by sensing the container hasbeen moved again, or based on other factors like set time durationbetween notification). The process may be repeated until it isdetermined that an accurate measurement has been collected. Oftencontainers are moved or in strange positions and if there are changes inthe readings between short time periods, the system is able to sense theexpected irregularity, note the potential problem, alert the properparty, and re-initiate a measurement when deemed appropriate.

In some embodiments, the system is aware of how long a substance hasresided in the container as compared to its expiration date (e.g., basedon data stored in memory 114 or memory 120. This may be determined byone or more processor(s) in medication container 102, backend server104, and/or other computer(s) such as a personal computer 128.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the system is able to alert thepatient (or designated contact) for the substance to be discarded orreplaced using any of the alert mechanisms described above and/or otheralert(s).

Medication container 102 may include different types of sensor(s) 126 invarious embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, sensor 126 mayinclude a detector switch for detecting engagement with a container capand for outputting a signal or data indicative of an open or closedstate. In some embodiments, sensor 126 may include an ultrasonic sensorengagement for sensing an open or closed state for the container cap. Inother embodiments, sensor 126 may include a proximity probe sensor,photo interrupter, optical switch, and/or other trigger mechanism fordetecting an open or closed state of the container cap.

In some embodiments, medication container 102, backend server 104,and/or other computer(s) may trigger reminders and/or alerts to thepatent based at least in part on a proximity of medication container 102to a user computer 128 (e.g., patient's cellular phone), location (e.g.,patient's home), or an intermediate device (e.g., wall-mountablededicated base station in the patient's home). For example, anapplication running on medication container 102 (e.g., includingcomputer executable instructions stored in memory 112) may causecontainer 102 to check or ping wirelessly (e.g., periodically or at anyother suitable time) for the presence of a cellular phone orintermediate device (e.g., dedicated base station plugged into a walloutlet), which may also be running an application for receiving andmonitoring for such communications. As another example, a globalpositioning module in medication container 102 may check (e.g.,periodically or at any other suitable time) whether a location of thebottle matches a location stored in memory. In some embodiments, aglobal positioning module in medication container 102 may register thelocation(s) where medication container 102 is opened and closed. Suchlocation data may be stored in memory 114, communicated to backendsystem 104 for storage in memory 120, and/or communicated to othercomputer(s) (e.g., user computer 128).

In some embodiments, reminders and/or alerts to the patient may betriggered based at least in part on proximity of a user computer 128(e.g., patient's cellular phone) to medication container 102, a location(e.g., patient's home), or an intermediate device (e.g., wall-mountablededicated base station in the patient's home). For example, anapplication running on user computer 128 (e.g., including computerexecutable instructions stored in memory of computer 128) may cause usercomputer 128 to check or ping wirelessly (e.g., periodically or at anyother suitable time) for the presence of medication container 102 or anintermediate device, which may also be running an application forreceiving and monitoring for such communications. As another example, aglobal positioning module in user computer 128 may check (e.g.,periodically or at any other suitable time) whether the location of thephone matches a location stored in memory.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may utilize an open orother application programming interface (API). This may allow otherdevices and systems (e.g., backend system 104, user computer 128, and/ora pharmacy's computer 130) to communicate with medication container 102in a more efficient and user-friendly manner.

Medication container 102 may have any suitable size and/or shape. Forexample, in some embodiments, medication container 102 may be a pillbottle. In some embodiments, the pill bottle may have a cylindrical orsubstantially cylindrical body as with conventional pill bottles. Thebody may have a circular or substantially circular cross section, Thecap of medical container 102 may be circular or substantially circularin cross-section for affixation to the body. In its normal and uprightposition, the body may extend vertically from a base of the container,the base having a circular or substantially circular cross-section, upto the cap. In other embodiments, a body of medication container 102 maybe non-cylindrical (e.g., square, elliptical, conical, rectangular, orin decorative, ergonomic, or child-friendly shapes or figures). In someembodiments, medication container 102 may have a clamshell shape.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may have multiplecompartments. For example, a pill or liquid medication bottle may besplit or divided (e.g., in half or in some other proportionality), suchthat electrical circuitry (e.g., cellular modem and/or microprocessor,etc.) is housed in one or more electronics compartments that areseparated from but coupled to a compartment for the actual medication.In some embodiments, the split or division exists along only a part ofthe pill bottle (e.g., only half-way from the bottom), to allow thecontainer to house more medication. In some embodiments, the division ofmedication container 102 may ensure that medication does not come intodirect physical contact with the electrical circuitry of the container.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may have a conicalconfiguration within the medication compartment to cause medication togather at the bottom of the container in a specification manner (e.g.,near sensor(s) 116).

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include stickers orother identifiers that affix to a cap and/or body of the container. Suchidentifiers may function to indicate to whom the container belongs.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include grippingmaterial (e.g., rubber or ribbed plastic) on at least a portion of thecontainer such as the body and/or cap to make the container easier tohold.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may be large enough tohouse a multi-day medication container that fits at least partially intoit (e.g., a conventional, off-the-shelf pill box available for purchaseat a local pharmacy that contains multiple compartments, typically onecompartment for each day of the week). In some embodiments, medicationcontainer 102 may include one or more sensor(s) 116 for sensing Whenmedication is removed from any of the compartments within the multi-daymedication container.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include one or morefunctionalities directed to power management. For example, in someembodiments, container 102 may include a mini-USB/micro-USB charger, orother charging capability for charging a local power source 110. Localpower source 110 (e.g., battery) may include any suitable type and/orShape. In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include aretractable charger in or coiled around a portion (e.g., bottom) of thecontainer that is configured to plug into a wall outlet. In someembodiments, some or all of the electronics within medication container102 (e.g., a receiver) may power up periodically or according to anyother suitable schedule or impetus (e.g., once every X amount of time orvia an external prompt). This may allow container 102 to conserve power,allowing it to selectively turn on to receive reminders (e.g., frombackend system 104 once every X amount of time) and/or to receive and/orprocess signals and/or data. In some embodiments, medication container102 may include two or more connectivity options having different powerconsumption levels associated therewith for communicating with backendserver 104 and/or other computer(s) (e.g., via Bluetooth, 2G, or 3G).Medication container 102 may initially seek to utilize a lesspower-intensive mode of connectivity to send out signal(s) to backendserver 104 or another device such as a patient's cellular phone 128(e.g., Bluetooth), and only if it is unable to connect will it useanother, more power-intensive mode (e.g., 3G). In some embodiments,medication container 102 may include an ON-OFF button or switch. Forexample, once turned on, the bottle may not be able to be turned off bya patient. This may allow a pharmacist to turn the bottle on (e.g., whenready for use or once it is charged), and may conserve power because thecontainer will not drain the local power source as it sits on the storeshelf or in storage awaiting assignment to a patient.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include one or morefeatures that identify or associate the container with, for example, apatient, a data record, and/or a transmitter or transceiver 108 in thecontainer. For example, in some embodiments, medication container 102may include a barcode or other identifier (e.g., fixed to or printed onan outer portion of the container). In some embodiments, the identifiermay be associated with an account number for the patient or a particularmodule (e.g., 3G module) inside the container. In some embodiments, theidentifier may be recorded (e.g., scanned) by a pharmacist to associatethe medication container 102 and its unique identifier with a datarecord for a particular patient. Data associating the identifier formedication container 102 with the particular patient may be stored in,for example, memory 120 of backend system 104, memory 114 of medicationcontainer 102, and/or in memory of pharmacy computer 130, physiciancomputer 132, and/or user computer 128. In some embodiments, theidentifier may be included in communication(s) between medicationcontainer 102, on one hand, and backend system 104 and/or othercomputer(s) (e.g., 128, 130, and/or 132) on the other hand. For example,medication container 102 may communicate data packet(s) to backendserver 104 and/or other computers, where the data packet(s) include dataindicative of the identifier and/or data indicative of a medicationquantity, such as data indicative of a capacitance measurement betweeninterleaved or interdigitated electrodes positioned at least partiallyaround a body of the container.

In some embodiments, memory 120 and/or memory 114 (and/or other memoryof computers 128, 130, and/or 132) may store non-transitory computerprogram instructions (computer logic) for causing computer(s) orprocessor(s) within medication container 102, backend server 104, and/orother computers to associate the identifier for the container with aprescription drug/dosage/refill schedule, patient contact information(e.g., preferred type(s) of reminder(s) and/or alert(s)), doctor contactinformation, pharmacy contact information, and/or any other informationassociated with a data record for a patient including the informationdescribed above (e.g., data indicative of medication quantitiesremaining within container 102, data indicating time since the lastmedication quantity measurement from container 102, etc.), and/or toinitiate reminder, alert, and/or other functions based on thisinformation. In some embodiments, backend server 104 and/or othercomputer(s) may access stored patient data to determine whether, when,and/or how to contact a patient with reminder(s) and/or alert(s) to takemedication.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include a button orother user-input feature or option (e.g., on a portion of a cap or body,or on or near where a cap screws into the body) that triggers amedication refill. For example, when a user activates the user-inputfeature, medication container 102 may communicate with backend server104, a computer associated with the patient's doctor or family member132, and/or a pharmacy computer system 130 that the patient hasrequested a refill.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include a button orother user-input feature or option (e.g., on a cap or body, or on ornear where a cap screws into the body) that allows a patent to alert orspeak with someone (e.g., doctor or family member). For example,activating this option for a certain period of time may elicit a certainresponse (e.g. holding it for 10 seconds causes a doctor to be notifiedto call the patient). When a user activates this user-input feature,medication container 102 may communicate with backend server 104, acomputer associated with the patient's doctor or family member 132,and/or a pharmacy computer system 130 that the patient is requestingassistance.

In some embodiments, medication container 102 may include one or moresecurity features. For example, medication container 102 may include afingerprint scanner, touch pad for use in entering a code, and/or otherlock mechanism. In some embodiments, such mechanism(s) may be used torestrict access to the medication contained within medication container102 and/or other features (e.g., refill function, assistance requestfunction, etc.).

In some embodiments, backend system 104 may solicit feedback frompatients (e.g., via text message, email, and/or telephone calls topatients) to determine reasons for non-adherence and/or may respondaccordingly to such feedback using any suitable approach (e.g., text oremail acknowledgement). In some embodiments, such feedback may be storedin a data record for the patient and utilized by the above-describedmachine learning techniques to more accurately predict likelihood ofpatient non-adherence and/or to select appropriate reminders and/oralerts.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a medication container 102 that includes atwo-segmented capacitance sensor 116 according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 2A shows a side view of aconventionally-shaped, generally cylindrical medication container 102(e.g., pill bottle). In the example shown, medication container 102includes a central axis 202 that extends vertically from a base of thecontainer when the container is in its normal and upright position. Forexample, and without limitation, the container may have a cap diameterof approximately 31 millimeters (mm) (as measured perpendicularly toaxis 202), a body diameter of approximately 29.5 mm, and a height ofapproximately 68 mm (as measured in a direction parallel to axis 202).Other sizes and/or shapes for medication containers 102 may be utilizedin other embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates a flat or unrolled view of an electrode pattern fora two-segmented capacitance sensor 116, including a first conductiveterminal 204 in electrical communication with a first electrode and asecond conductive terminal 206 in electrical communication with a secondelectrode. In the example shown, the electrodes are conductive blocksthat extend from terminals 204 and 206, although other shapes for theelectrodes may be utilized in other embodiments (e.g., triangle, oval,part-circular, tubular, and/or amorphous electrodes). In someembodiments, electrical connection of the electrodes to, for example, acapacitance to digital converter 118 (FIG. 1) or another electricalcircuit, may be made via at least a portion of the first and secondterminals 204 and 206 (e.g., via the small protrusions of terminals 204and 206 shown in FIG. 2B).

FIG. 2C illustrates the electrodes of the two-segmented capacitancesensor 116 of FIG. 2A as configured for positioning on or in at least aportion of medication container 102. For example, the electrodes may bepositioned around at least part of a substantial portion of, most of, ora substantially entirety of a circumference of the body of thecontainer. In the example shown, terminals 204 and 206 and theirassociated electrodes are opposed but are not interleaved orinterdigitated. At most only one of the terminals/electrodes 204 and 206is present at any given point around the circumference of the medicationcontainer. The capacitor formed by the electrodes is similar to, forexample, a parallel-plate capacitor.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of a capacitance sensor 116 fora medication container, where the capacitance sensor includesvertically-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes. Forexample, for a medication container 102 of the type shown in FIG. 2A, adirection of elongation of the electrodes may be parallel to centralaxis 202. FIG. 3A illustrates a flat or unrolled view of an electrodepattern for the capacitance sensor, including a first terminal 302 inelectrical communication with one or more electrodes 304 (e.g., 2electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B) and a secondterminal 306 in electrical communication with one or more electrodes 308(e.g., 2 electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B).

FIG. 3B illustrates the electrodes as configured for positioning on orin at least a portion of medication container 102 (e.g., positionedaround at least part of, a substantial portion of, most of, or asubstantially entirety of a circumference of the body of the container).In the example shown, electrodes 304 and 308 areinterleaved/interdigitated in an alternating pattern, with at least oneelectrode 304 being positioned in between two electrodes 308, or viceversa. Generally, the inclusion of multiple (e.g., 4) interleavedelectrodes, instead of the 2 opposed electrodes in the configuration ofFIGS. 2B-2C, improves the ability to accurately and repeatably measurethe contents of medication container 102 by measuring capacitance.Generally, with the exception of the left-most and right-most regions ofthe electrode pattern shown in FIG. 3A, at least a portion of (i)terminal 302 and/or electrode 304 and (ii) terminal 306 and/or electrode308 is present at any given point around the circumference of themedication container. In other embodiments, the terminals and/orelectrodes may be shaped differently (e.g., triangle, ovular,part-circular, tubular, and/or amporphous, etc.), have different sizes(e.g., length and/or thickness), and/or may be positioned in differentconfigurations relative to medication container 102 (e.g., differentangular configuration(s) relative to axis 202). The space between theopposed electrodes in FIGS. 3A and 3B resembles a square wave. In otherembodiments, other numbers and/or configurations of electrodes may beprovided within capacitance sensor 116.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another embodiment of a capacitance sensor116 where the capacitance sensor includes vertically-orientedinterleaved or interdigitated electrodes. For example, for a medicationcontainer 102 of the type shown in FIG. 2A, a direction of elongation ofthe electrodes may be parallel to central axis 202. FIG. 4A illustratesa flat or unrolled view of an electrode pattern for the capacitancesensor, including a first terminal 402 in electrical communication withone or more electrodes 404 (e.g., 10 electrodes in the embodiment shownin FIGS. 4A and 4B) and a second terminal 306 in electricalcommunication with one or more electrodes 308 (e.g., 10 electrodes inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B). FIG. 4B illustrates theelectrodes as configured for positioning on or in at least a portion ofmedication container 102 (e.g., positioned around at least part of, asubstantial portion of, most of, or a substantially entirety of acircumference of the body of the container). In the example shown,electrodes 404 and 408 are interleaved/interdigitated in an alternatingpattern, with at least one electrode 404 being positioned in between twoelectrodes 408, or vice versa. Generally, with the exception of theleft- and right-most regions of the electrode pattern shown in FIG. 4A,at least a portion of (i) terminal 402 and/or electrode 404 and (ii)terminal 406 and/or electrode 408 is present at any given point aroundthe circumference of the medication container. In the example shown, thevertical electrodes in FIGS. 4A and 4B have a reduced thickness incomparison to the vertical electrodes shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment of a capacitance sensor 116 fora medication container, where the capacitance sensor includeshorizontally-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes. Forexample, for a medication container 102 of the type shown in FIG. 2A, adirection of elongation of the electrodes may be perpendicular tocentral axis 202. FIG. 5A illustrates a flat or unrolled view of anelectrode pattern for the capacitance sensor, including a first terminal502 in electrical communication with one or more electrodes 504 (e.g.,10 electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B) and a secondterminal 506 in electrical communication with one or more electrodes 508(e.g., 10 electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B). FIG.5B illustrates the electrodes as configured for positioning on or in atleast a portion of medication container 102 (e.g., positioned around atleast part of a substantial portion of most of, or a substantiallyentirety of a circumference of the body of the container). In theexample shown, electrodes 504 and 508 are interleaved/interdigitated inan alternating pattern, with at least one electrode 504 being positionedin between two electrodes 508, or vice versa. Generally, with theexception of region at or close to terminals 502 and 506, at least aportion of (i) an electrode 504 and (ii) and electrode 508 is present atany given point around the circumference of the medication container.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate yet another embodiment of a capacitancesensor 116 for a medication container, where the capacitance sensorincludes vertically-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes.For example, for a medication container 102 of the type shown in FIG.2A, a direction of elongation of the electrodes may be parallel tocentral axis 202. FIG. 6A illustrates a flat or unrolled view of anelectrode pattern for the capacitance sensor, including a first terminal602 in electrical communication with one or more electrodes 604 (e.g., 6electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B) and a secondterminal 606 in electrical communication with one or more electrodes 608(e.g., 6 electrodes in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B). FIG. 6Billustrates the electrodes as configured for positioning on or in atleast a portion of medication container 102 (e.g., positioned around atleast part of, a substantial portion of, most of, or a substantiallyentirety of a circumference of the body of the container), In theexample shown, electrodes 604 and 608 are interleaved/interdigitated inan alternating pattern, with at least one electrode 604 being positionedin between two electrodes 608, or vice versa. Generally, with theexception of the left-most and right-most regions of the electrodepattern shown in FIG. 6A, at least a portion of (i) terminal 602 and/orelectrode 604 and (ii) terminal 606 and/or electrode 608 is present atany given point around the circumference of the medication container. Inthe example shown, the vertical electrodes in FIGS. 6A and 6B havedifferent shape than the electrodes shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4 b.In FIGS. 6A and 6B, the electrodes and terminals have smoothed edges.The space between the opposed electrodes in FIGS. 6A and 6B resembles asine wave.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate yet another embodiment of a capacitancesensor 116 for a medication container, where the capacitance sensorincludes diagonally-oriented interleaved or interdigitated electrodes.For example, for a medication container 102 of the type shown in FIG.2A, a direction of elongation of the electrodes may be at a 45 degreeangle to central axis 202. Other angular relationships for one or more(e.g., all) of the electrodes may be utilized in other embodiments ofthe present disclosure (e.g., between 0 and 30 degrees, between 30 and60 degrees, and between 0 and 90 degrees). FIG. 7A illustrates a flat orunrolled view of an electrode pattern for the capacitance sensor,including a first terminal 702 in electrical communication with one ormore electrodes 704 and a second terminal 706 in electricalcommunication with one or more electrodes 708. FIG. 7B illustrates theelectrodes as configured for positioning on or in at least a portion ofmedication container 102 (e.g., positioned around at least part of asubstantial portion of, most of, or a substantially entirety of acircumference of the body of the container). In the example shown,electrodes 704 and 708 are interleaved/interdigitated in an alternatingpattern, with at least one electrode 704 being positioned in between twoelectrodes 708, or vice versa.

Capacitance sensor(s) 116 may have additional electrodes and/orterminals according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Forexample, in some embodiments, an additional terminal may be positionedon or in a bottom surface of medication container 102 (e.g., a circularconductive terminal) for use in measuring capacitance. Capacitance maybe measured between, for example, the bottom terminal and the firstterminal or second terminal in any of the above-described embodiments(e.g., first terminal 402 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B).This may allow for increased accuracy in the measurement of the quantityof medication (e.g., pills or liquid medication) at the bottom of thecontainer or when the container only includes a small number of pills.In some embodiments, computer executable instructions stored in memory114 of medication container 102 alter the terminal pairs between whichthe capacitance is measured depending on, for example, the quantity ofmedication in the container.

In some embodiments, capacitance sensor(s) 116 may include a terminaland electrode within medication container 102 (e.g., along all or aportion of central axis 202 in FIG. 2A) for use in measuringcapacitance. Capacitance may be measured between, for example, thisterminal (e.g., located on or in a bottom surface of medicationcontainer 102) and the first terminal or second terminal in any of theabove-described embodiments (e.g., first terminal 402 in the embodimentshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B). Such an additional electrode may allow alarger portion of the medication within container 102 to be locatedbetween electrodes and may improve accuracy of the measurement.

FIG. 8 is a graph of capacitance (y-axis) versus number of pills(x-axis) as measured by a capacitance sensor 116 in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, capacitancesensor 116 was constructed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As shown, thecapacitance measurement ranges from slightly less than 10.7 picoFarads(pF) to slightly less than 12 pF as the contents of medication container102 change from 0 pills to 50 pills, respectively. In this example, thepills were Aspirin 325 milligram (mg) pills, although other sizes andtypes of pills (or liquid medication) may be used in other embodiments.As shown, the capacitance varies generally linearly with pill count,with each pill producing a change in capacitance of approximately 24femtoFarads (fF) in this example. This is within the range of availablecapacitance controllers (e.g., capacitance to digital converter 118(FIG. 1)). In this experiment, measurements were taken using anevaluation kit for controller AD7746 from Analog Devices. In otherembodiments, depending on the configuration of capacitance sensor 116,and the types of pills housed within medication container 102, each pillmay produce a change in capacitance of between approximately 10 fF and100 fF or more (e.g., between 20-40 fF).

FIG. 9 is a graph of capacitance (y-axis) versus volume of liquidmedication (x-axis) as measured by a capacitance sensor 116 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In thisexample, capacitance sensor 116 was constructed as shown in FIGS. 6A and6B. As shown, the capacitance measurement ranges from slightly greaterthan 7 picoFarads (pF) to about 19.5 pF as the contents of medicationcontainer 102 change from 0 milliliters (mL) to 35 mL In this example,the liquid medication was liquid tussin, although other types of liquidmedication may be used in other embodiments. As shown, the capacitancevaries generally linearly with quantity of liquid medication. In thisexample, the measurements marked with a circle were measured with afirst offset, and the measurements marked with a square were measuredwith a second offset, as applied to the capacitance controller (AnalogDevices AD7746). These different offsets were the reason for theequivalence or slight dip in capacitance measurements between the tenthand eleventh measurements, and can be overcome in practice withadditional calibrations during measurement. As shown, on average eachmilliliter of liquid medication produces a change in capacitance ofabout 350 fF. In other embodiments, depending on the configuration ofcapacitance sensor 116, and the type of liquid medication housed withinmedication container 102, each milliliter of medication may produce achange in capacitance of between approximately 100 and 500 fF or more(e.g., between 250-450 fF).

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a medication container 102 that includes aweight sensor 116 for measuring the weight of medication within thecontainer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, sensor 116 may utilize an integrated strain gage andgyroscope architecture to determine the container contents. FIG. 10Ashows the sensor in a retracted/resting state. FIG. 10B shows the devicein a protracted/active state. Pills or liquid medication rest on amovable platform (e). The movable platform rests on a fixed platform(f). The movable platform is secured from moving out of a safe position.In some embodiments, this is accomplished by having the movable platformprotected on one side by the fixed platform (e), and protected on theother side by tiny protrusions in the body of the bottle (d).

In some embodiments, a weighing mechanism, such as a scale, is containedthe device (a & b). The weighing mechanism is attached to a retractablemechanism (c), which rests in its retracted state. In its retractedstate, the area of the weighing mechanism that determines an items mass,such as the scale's base plate (a), is below both the movable platform(e) and not in contact with any platform, material or substancewhatsoever, in some embodiments. This ensures that the weighingmechanism does not experience the stress of constant weight and pressureon its components, so that the weighing mechanism stays properlycalibrated. The weighing mechanism establishes baseline periodicallywhen in the retracted state, so as to ensure accuracy.

When it is determined that the contents of the drug container should bemeasured (e.g., using a cap sensor as described above), the weighingmechanism rises into its protracted state as shown in FIG. 10B. As theretractable mechanism (c) rises into its protracted state, it lifts boththe base plate (a) and the body of the scale (b) up so that the baseplate (a) makes contact with movable platform (e). The weighingmechanism (c) continues to rise into its fully protracted state, liftingthe movable platform (e) off of and above of the fixed platform (f).

When the weighing mechanism is in its fully protracted state, themovable platform (e) and the contents of the bottle fully rest on theweighing mechanism as shown in FIG. 10B. The weighing mechanism (a & b)bears the entire weight of the movable platform (e) and the contents ofthe bottle. In some embodiments, the total weight of the movableplatform (e) and the contents of the bottle are recorded and stored bythe weighing mechanism (a & h). Such information may be stored in, forexample, memory 114 and/or memory 120 (FIG. 1).

Once the device has accurately recorded the weight of the platform andthe contents of the bottle, the retractable mechanism (c) lowers itselfand the weighting mechanism (a & b) hack into its retracted state. Asthe weighing mechanism lowers into its retracted state, the movableplatform (e) makes contact with the fixed platform (f). The retractablemechanism (c) continues to lower itself and the weighing mechanism (a &b) to a point where the base plate (a) is below the movable platform(e).

When the device is in its fully retracted state as shown in FIG. 10A,the movable platform (e) and the contents of the bottle fully rest onthe fixed platform (f). The fixed platform bears the entire weight ofthe movable platform and the contents of the bottle. The device rests inits retracted state (e). The area of the weighing mechanism thatdetermines an items mass, such as a scale's base plate (a), is not incontact with any platform, material or substance.

Thus, it is appreciated that the medication container 102 shown in FIGS.10A and 10B includes a platform operatively coupled to the base, ameasurement sensor 116 operatively coupled to the platform, themeasurement sensor having a first position and a second position,wherein the measurement sensor is not in contact with the platform inthe first position, and contacts the platform in the second position tomake a measurement (e.g., weight measurement), wherein the measurementsensor resets to the first position after making a measurement in thesecond position.

In some embodiments, the medication container communicates the weightmeasurement information to a remote computer (e.g., backend system 104or user computer 128) via its communication device (g), which mayinclude transceiver 108 and/or processor 112 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart 1100 of illustrative stages involved in a methodfor reminding a patient to consume a medication. At stage 1102, dataindicative of a medication regimen associated with a patient may bestored in memory. At stage 1104, one or more communications from amedication container associated with the patient may be received. Atstage 1106, data indicative of when a communication was last receivedfrom the medication container may be compared to the data indicative ofthe medication regimen associated with the patient. At stage 1108, areminder to the patient to consume the medication may be triggered basedat least in part on the comparison.

FIG. 12 is another flowchart 1200 of illustrative stages involved in amethod for reminding a patient to consume a medication. At stage 1202,data indicative of a quantity of medication within the medicationcontainer at a particular time may be received. At stage 1204, the dataindicative of the quantity of the medication within the medicationcontainer may be compared to data indicative of the medication regimenassociated with the patient. At stage 1206, a reminder to the patient toconsume the medication may be triggered based at least in part on thecomparison.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein and shown in thefigures may be implemented or performed with a general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor maybe a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processormay also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

In one or more example embodiments, the functions, methods, and/orapplications described may be implemented in hardware, software, orfirmware executed on a processor, or any combination thereof Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable mediumor memory. Computer-readable media include both non-transitory computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program. A storage medium may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can includenon-transitory computer-readable media including RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. A computer-readablemedium can include a communication signal path. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium.

The system may include various blocks or modules as discussed above andshown in the figures. As can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill inthe art, each of the modules may include one or more of a variety of subroutines, procedures, definitional statements and macros. Each of themodules may be separately compiled and linked into a single executableprogram. Therefore, the description of each of the modules is used forconvenience to describe the functionality of the disclosed embodiments.Thus, the processes that are undergone by each of the modules may beredistributed to one of the other modules, combined together in a singlemodule, or made available in, for example, a shareable dynamic linklibrary.

The system may be used in connection with various operating systems suchas Linux®, UNIX® or Microsoft Windows®. The system may be written in anyconventional programming language such as C, C++, BASIC, Pascal, orJava, and ran under a conventional operating system. The system may alsobe written using interpreted languages such as Visual Basic (VB.NET),Perl, Python or Ruby.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the described technology. Such modifications and changes are intendedto fall within the scope of the embodiments that are described. It willalso be appreciated by those of skill in the art that features includedin one embodiment are interchangeable with other embodiments; and thatone or more features from a depicted embodiment can be included withother depicted embodiments in any combination. For example, any of thevarious components described herein and/or depicted in the figures maybe combined, interchanged, or excluded from other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A medication container, comprising: a housing formedication; a cap removably coupled to the housing; a cap sensorconfigured to sense opening and/or closing of the cap; a measurementsensor coupled to the housing for sensing a quantity of medicationwithin the housing; one or more processors configured to trigger areading of the measurement sensor based at least in part on a status ofthe cap sensor; a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting data regardingthe reading of the measurement sensor to a remote computer; a wirelessreceiver configured to receive an activation command from or otherwiseinitiated by the remote computer; and an alert comprising at least oneof a light source, a graphical display, a text display, and a speaker,wherein the one or more processors is configured to activate the alertbased at least in part on the receipt of the activation command by thewireless receiver.
 2. The medication container of claim 1, wherein themeasurement sensor comprises a capacitance sensor.
 3. The medicationcontainer of claim 2, wherein the capacitance sensor comprises aplurality of conductive electrodes arranged in an interleaved patternfor sensing the quantity of medication within the housing.
 4. Themedication container of claim 1, wherein the measurement sensorcomprises a weight sensor.
 5. A medication container, comprising: ahousing for medication; a capacitance sensor coupled to the housing forsensing a capacitance corresponding to a quantity of the medicationwithin the housing, the capacitance sensor comprising a plurality ofconductive electrodes arranged in an interleaved pattern; a capremovably coupled to the housing; a cap sensor configured to senseopening and/or closing of the cap; one or more processors configured totrigger a reading of the capacitance sensor based at least in part on astatus of the cap sensor; a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting dataregarding the reading of the capacitance sensor to a remote computer; awireless receiver configured to receive an activation command from orotherwise initiated by the remote computer; and an alert comprising atleast one of a light source, a graphical display, a text display, and aspeaker, wherein the one or more processors is configured to activatethe alert based at least in part on the receipt of the activationcommand by the wireless receiver.
 6. The medication container of claim5, wherein the capacitance sensor comprises: a first conductiveelectrode in electrical communication with a first conductive terminal;and second and third conductive electrodes in electrical communicationwith a second conductive terminal, wherein the first conductiveelectrode is positioned in between the second and third conductiveelectrodes, and wherein the capacitance attributable to the quantity ofthe medication within the housing is sensed in between the firstconductive terminal and the second conductive terminal.
 7. Themedication container of claim 5, wherein the interleaved pattern ofconductive electrodes comprises regularly-spaced conductive electrodes.8. The medication container of claim 5, wherein the interleaved patternof conductive electrodes comprises rectangularly shaped or generallyrectangularly shaped conductive electrodes.
 9. The medication containerof claim 5, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrodes ispositioned in parallel or generally parallel to a vertical axis of themedication container when the medication container is in an uprightposition.
 10. The medication container of claim 5, wherein at least oneof the plurality of electrodes is positioned perpendicular or generallyperpendicular to a vertical axis of the medication container when themedication container is in an upright position.
 11. The medicationcontainer of claim 5, wherein at least one of the plurality ofelectrodes is positioned in an angular relationship to a vertical axisof the medication container when the medication container is in anupright position, wherein the angular relationship is non-parallel andnon-perpendicular.
 12. The medication container of claim 5, wherein atleast one of the plurality of electrodes is positioned at anapproximately 35 to 55 degree angle relative to a vertical axis of themedication container when the medication container is in an uprightposition.
 13. The medication container of claim 5, wherein thecapacitance sensor is configured such that the capacitance correspondingto the medication varies linearly or generally linearly to the quantityof medication within the housing.
 14. The medication container of claim5, wherein the capacitance sensor is configured such that thecapacitance corresponding to the quantity of the medication varies bybetween 10 femtoFarads (fF) to 100 fF per pill that is added to orremoved from the housing.
 15. The medication container of claim 5,wherein the capacitance sensor is configured such that the capacitancecorresponding to the quantity of the medication varies by between 250femtoFarads (fF) to 450 fF per milliliter of liquid medication that isadded to or removed from the housing.
 16. The medication container ofclaim 5, further comprising a capacitance to digital converter forconverting the capacitance sensed by the capacitance sensor into digitaldata.
 17. The medication container of claim 5, further comprising atleast one alert configured to be activated based at least in part on thecapacitance corresponding to the quantity of the medication sensed bythe capacitance sensor.